Things are going great in the Clear Springs Branch; reactivating; and obedience and progression...

Dear Family!

How’s it going?

Things have been great here in the Clear Springs Branch.  My companion is Elder Campbell from West Jordan, UT.  He was a Visa waiter that came after I went to UGA, who got his Visa, but had foot problems in Brazil.  So they sent him back here to the GANM.  Awesome.  He was in Brazil for about two months, in the Campinas Mission.  He speaks great Portuguese and is extremely humble and hardworking.  Awesome.  : )

Two other elders here are Elder Goodman and Elder Waters, both of which were originally English speakers but got assignment changes.  Elder Goodman has been here since I left in March, and Elder Waters has been here since Elder Mundt left in April.  They’re both great as well.

The branch has been doing well since it started back in ... June, I think?  Fátima has gone a little less active since she was baptized, so we’re visiting her and Lucca on a semi-frequent basis, and we’re trying to get them back to church soon.  Awesome.

We don’t really have anyone prospective for baptism, so I’ll keep you updated on that in the future.

So it was kind of a bummer to leave UGA.  Not that I want to complain or anything, ha.  It’s just one of those things - we had three baptismal dates, and it would’ve been great to have been there to see Kim and Kevin and Laura be baptized.  And we had a few other people that we were planning on giving dates as well.  But, “tudo bem,” I’m super happy to be back Portuguese-speaking.  And I’m sure that the UGA sisters will do a great job with the investigators we were working with.

Then here he asks questions about family members, etc

Here’s something fun I picked up in my personal study today:  1 Nephi 16:6-7.  Nephi and Co have been chillin’ in the Valley of Lemuel during the time where they retrieve the brass plates, and get some wifeys.  In verse 8 of the same chapter, Nephi informs that upon getting said plates and wives that they fulfilled all the commandments Heavenly Father had given them.  Then in 9&10, God gives Lehi further commandments, and provides the Liahona to guide them in their journey into the wilderness.  So ... what?  God gives us commandments and revelations and until we are obedient to the fulfillment of what has been given, we cannot progress.  We must be obedient to the truths of the truth and light of the Gospel which we’ve already received if we intend to progress and receive more light and truth.  Pretty cool!

Well, again, hope everything is well on the homefront!  I love you all very much!  Be excellent to each other!

Elder Trenton McGregor

Back in Paper Mill, now the Clear Springs Branch!; picked Portuguese right back up; and an update on UGA investigators

Dear Family;

How's it going?  Things are great here.

So I've got some crazy news – I've been transferred back to Paper Mill!  Woohoo!  It's now the Clear Springs Branch (Portuguese-speaking branch), and I'm here with Elders Goodman, Waters, and Campbell.  Pretty exciting.  It's great to be back Portuguese-speaking.  I was worried for a little that my language would have become rusty, but no difficulties – picked it right back up again.  Awesome.

So we were supposed to have a baptism last week with Kim, and we tried to help her feel good about it throughout the week.  She passed the interview on Thursday and everything.  Friday night (day before her baptism) she let us know she wasn't feeling ready and wanted to postpone her date. So we talked for a long time and ultimately decided to push it back two weeks.  And she came to church Sunday.  So she's still on track and everything.  Awesome.

We also had Stephen at church.  He dated a member for two years and decided he wanted to investigate the church.  He's taking an institute class, reading from the Book of Mormon, praying, all that good stuff.  I'm sure he'll be baptized soon  : )

Robb also came to church.  Hopefully he'll make the decision soon to be baptized.  I still wonder what it is exactly that's been holding him back.  He says he hasn't gotten an answer yet, although we know he's felt the Spirit in church, when we're teaching him, etc.  I'm pretty sure it'll happen eventually.  In the meantime, I'll keep praying for him.

So yeah, back in Paper Mill!  Awesome!  But of course we're no longer "Paper Mill Portuguese," but the Clear Springs Branch.  President Tedjamulia, or Pres. Tedj for short, is branch president and he's awesome.  We don't have any perspective baptisms  yet, but we're working hard -- there are a couple of people we want to set dates with soon.  There have been a good number of people coming to church too -- which is great.  It's an important step before baptism (gotta be familiar with the church your joining).

I've been able to visit with a couple of people who have gone less active since I was here last.  Karen, Heather, Fatima, & Lucca seem to have struggled a bit since their baptisms. It's been great to see them again, and hopefully we can get them re-activated.

Then he talks about which classes he'd like to take Winter Semester and what level of Portuguese classes to start in, etc.  (we have to register for him, so I sent him his options and he's getting back to us on his preferences).

Well, love you all lots!  Hope everything is going well!  I enjoy hearing all the fun news about home every week -- the ward, Dad's work - all that.

Love!

Elder Trenton McGregor

"I wish I had another 10 of him..."

We didn't hear from Elder McGregor this week.  I suspect it is because the library was closed for the holiday.  But we did hear from his mission president again as a followup regarding his ecclesiastical interview for BYU:


Sept 1

Sister McGregor

On Monday I interviewed Elder McGregor.  Today I endorsed and submitted his ecclesiastical endorsement online to BYU.

By the way, Elder McGregor looked great and is doing very well.  He is an exemplary missionary.  I wish we had another 10 of him here in the mission.

Sincerely,

President Wolfert

What a nice email to receive!
You can see Pres. Wolfert's Aug 29 email to us at the bottom of the post below.

No crazy stuff from the hurricane here; Kim's baptism scheduled for this Saturday; and things are crazy on campus!

So this week we asked Elder McGregor some questions.  We also told him we need to get his paperwork done for BYU Winter semester, etc.
Here are our questions for him:

Any impact where you are from the hurricane?

How was church today? 
Do you still do the Thursday soapbox preaching on campus along with the other preachers?
Are things getting 'crazy' on campus with the football season about to start.
Any fun pday activities lately?
When was your last zone conference? 
What are you studying in the scriptures lately?

And here's his letter to us:

Well it sounds like things are going great back at home! Things are going great here at UGA. We've got a baptism scheduled for this saturday-- Kim! Woohoo!

So let's see. No crazy stuff from the hurricane here. We're good.

This Saturday UGA plays Boise State at the Georgia Dome (where the Falcons play), and I'm pretty sure it's going to be CRAZY this Saturday. We're going to do the baptism in the afternoon so we don't conflict with people's tailgaiting (since the game's at 8pm, they'll likely start around 6pm). But we're excited. Go Dawgs!

Church was good on Sunday. Kim went home for the weekend to visit her family, and all of our other investigators (aside from Robb, of course =]) weren't able to make it. But the lesson in Gospel Principles was on baptism, so that was good for Robb to learn (again...)

We weren't able to do the booth this last Thursday due to technical difficulties (UGA didn't respond to the request in time), but we're good for this week. So that's great--it'll be fun to do the booth again!

Things are definitely crazy on campus, but mostly because UGA has more students on campus than ever before-- over 35,000. And tons of Freshmen-- they accepted more freshman than ever before as well. So, needless to say, there are plenty of people to talk to =]

We've been playing basketball for the last couple p-days. Elder Barrett enjoys it a lot, and I've gotten a lot better since we've been playing pretty much weekly. I remember getting schooled pretty well in Church Ball as a teacher and priest. I guess basketball never really was a sport I pursued much... Oh well.

Last zone conference was just this last week actually! It was great. We talked about teaching (becoming better teachers), the visit from M. Russell Ballard to Atlanta, and what he talked about (missionary work, increasing the results of our work [ie more baptisms]), and what we need to do in order to double (!!) baptisms in our mission (which is what our mission-wide goal is). Awesome =]

I've been reading through the Book of Mormon again. It's awesome. People should read it more ;)

Well, I love you all! Hope everything continues well in life! Love!

Elder McGregor

Hey Madre, Padre,

So I called President Wolfert about sign up for classes for January, and he said that parents have to do it. So. There you go. He also said that BYU is very helpful in this process. So if you're there, I dunno how busy you are right now, but I've got about an hour to answer questions. It's been forever since I've signed up for classes-- I don't really remember how do to it... So yeah. There you go.

Talk to you soon,

Elder McGregor

I emailed Pres. Wolfert this morning that E McGregor would need an ecclesiastical endorsement for his re-admission to BYU Winter Semester.  He responded:
      "Let me tell you what a great missionary Elder McGregor is.  I love him.  What a 
      terrific young man!  You can be very pleased with who he is becoming."


and then proceeded to say that he'd be interviewing the missionaries in the Athens zone tomorrow and would take care of his endorsement online.  So it sounds like we'll be all ready to get him scheduled for classes.  Whew!  So nice to hear right back from him.

Things are going well; Kim is doing great; and "pretty much everything in a dog anyone could ask for."

Our wonderful dog Sprüngli passed away Saturday.  We miss him so much.  We let Trent know about it in our letters to him.

Wow. So that was unexpected.

So I started reading my emails from bottom to top, and I first saw the slideshow mom made of Sprungli. So I was like Oh, that's nice. And I look through the pictures, and get to the bottom and realized Oh, mom made this slideshow for a reason. And I turned to Elder Barrett and said, "So... my dog died."

But like I said-- unexpected. And I'm sure it was the same back at home. Y'all were probably wondering if all that was really happening, huh?

But yeah, then I read dad's email and found myself crying. Which was kind of unexpected as well. And now as I think back, I realized that Sprungli was pretty much everything in a dog anyone could ask for. Maybe if I'm lucky in the future I'll have as good a dog as he was =]

But all is well. We'll see Düngus again! =]

So things, as before, are still going well. People have eased into their schedules a little more this week, so we'll probably be able to find a few more people that are interested and willing to meet (last week was a little tough because it seems like no-one had their schedule set).

Oh, we got Sisters again here at UGA. Sister Coleman is back (she was here in the spring when I was with Elder Williams), along with Sister Teisina (she's Tongan, and lived in Hawaii for most of her life).

Kim is doing great. We originally planned on her baptism being this Friday, but she wants to have her family there, so we're going to have it next Saturday. Awesome.

We had 4 investigators at church on Sunday. Kim, Robb, Kristine and Kevin. Kristine's back at UGA from last spring (she's the one on the Dance Dawgs. She's from Utah, her boyfriend is serving a mission in Italy), and she's planning on coming to church all the time. Which is great.

Kevin is a friend of one of the members in our branch, and he was able to come to sacrament meeting for the first time, and it seems like he really enjoyed it. So that's good!

Yeah, there's really not much more to report. I'll keep y'all updated with our upcoming baptisms =]

Tell Blake I say hi. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other at BYU in the future (I'm pretty sure we've got the same major...)

Love!
Elder McGregor!

Bryon's email to Trenton:

It’s with heavy hearts that we are writing to tell you that Sprüngli passed away this weekend. He started to get sick earlier in the week. We had just returned from our trip to Utah and he was glad to see us. He started vomiting around the middle of last week. Since this happens periodically with him we didn’t think too much about it. Still, he seemed perky and wasn’t acting unusual. Friday we woke up to vomit but this time there wasn’t any food, just loads of bile. He began to quickly deteriorate throughout the day and by evening, he was withdrawn and unresponsive to food or water. We took him to the vet Saturday morning. I had to carry him because he didn’t have the strength to walk. He was so light. Inside the hospital they immediately placed him in emergency care to give him intravenous feeding and to perform an ultrasound. We spoke w/ the doctor in the afternoon and she said the results were serious. Because the ultrasound was inconclusive due to the swelling in his liver and surrounding organs, Dr. Daphne said they would need to begin exploratory surgery immediately and that they wouldn’t know if they could save him. They were unable to provide a prognosis.

We held a family prayer and called Katie, Kelsey and Jordan and asked them to pray for Sprüngli and us and that we would know if we should approve of the surgery or have him put to sleep. After many tears and prayers, we asked if we could see him and make the determination at the hospital. When we saw him, he stood briefly as if he were saying, “you’re here, let’s go home.” But then he laid back down not having the strength. It was then that we were able to accept the promptings we had been feeling that it was time for Sprüngli to return home to God. The doctor and nurses were wonderful and let us spend some time with him in a private patio area. After we said our goodbyes and gave him loves and kisses, the doctor gave him a sedative that put him to sleep and then stopped his heart. We took his body home and buried him in our yard near the field. We wrapped his body in a clean white sheet and after laying him in the grave we had a dedicatory prayer. The Spirit was sweet and our feelings tender. We are truly grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that allowed this loving, good and faithful friend into our home to be part of our lives. He taught us well through his example what it means to love, to forgive, and to be joyful in our service. We are told in the scriptures that all animals are saved, having fulfilled the purpose of their creation. I like to think that Sprüngli did that and more.

It’s been a difficult couple of days. The house feels empty. We see signs of Sprüngli like his bed or a chew toy and we begin to weep. When the doorbell rings, there’s only silence that follows. To hear the jingle of his collar tags when mom pulled them from her purse was heartbreaking. When we sit at the couch, he’s not there to pet or to run your fingers through his lovely fur. When we came home from church today, there was no one there to joyfully greet us.

We miss him dearly but know that he is in the best of hands, those of his creator. We like to think that Alllen was there to greet him. We recognize God’s loving hand in our lives and in Sprüngli’s as well. Before we left for Utah, we felt that I should give him a blessing. I laid my hands on his head and blessed him that he would be at peace while we were away and that he would be kept safe from harm. Morgan watched him while we were away and walked him twice daily. In hindsight, we believe God answered our prayer and kept him safe while we were away and preserved his life until we could be home with him.

I know this must be difficult to read and I’m sorry Dünga won’t be here to greet you when you come home. I wish we could be with you to give you comfort now in your feelings of sorrow and loss. You are in our prayers and we know that God will be there for you in our absence. Mom has posted some pictures of Sprüngli and the family and she sent you the details.

We love you and hope despite this sad news that you will find joy in your service. We are thankful for your loving efforts to share the glad message of the gospel of Christ. Our testimonies are strengthened, even in times of sorrow, by the knowledge that we will be together again someday. We look forward to seeing you soon. Please give our best to your companion and the people you are teaching. Please let us know how you are doing and how your week went. 

Investigator progress; 7 1/2 months in Athens; students everywhere!; and working hard

Wow! Looks like y'all had a great time in UT!
(we just got back from a whirlwind trip to Utah - took Katie and her truck to BYU, went to a family reunion and both Bryon and my class reunions, etc etc...)

So here are the (investigator) updates:

Kim is doing really well-- she's excited to be baptized next saturday. We've taught her almost everything she needs to know, and we already talked about the interview questions with her. I suppose the only thing that could be better is if she were more consistent with her reading in the Book of Mormon, and I think that's what we'll be working on with her. Our next lesson we'll talk about daily scripture study, and commit her to read the Book of Mormon every day.

We taught Claudia the first time since she returned from vacation on friday-- she informed us that she no longer wanted to be baptized. It turns out her family isnt' being supportive at all, so we read from Matthew where Christ talks about father being against son and mother being against daughter, and how we need to bear our cross to be worthy of him. And then, of course, a few chapters later where he teaches that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We set a new baptismal date for September 10, because she told us she knows this is true (the Book of Mormon, the restoration, etc.).

Laura is still preparing for her baptism (also Sept 10), though it's been a little tough to meet with her, as she's very busy. However, she's been working on getting work off on Sundays so she can consistently come to church.

We set a date with Kevin for October 1 this last week, and he accepted it as a goal that we can work towards. He doesn't have a testimony, but he does believe that the Restoration COULD be true, which is a great start. We're going to focus strongly on reading and praying, and helping him recognize his answer. It may be difficult for him, as he's very active in the Catholic church (he holds a student leadership position, etc.), but a witness from the Holy Ghost is great motivation for baptism!

And news about transfers: I'm staying at UGA for another month and a half! It'll be 7 1/2 months at the end of this transfer. Crazy. Elder Barret's staying as well, and now that Fall semester's starting up, a pair of Sisters will be joining us.

So I'd almost forgotten how busy it is during the real school year! There are students everywhere! Which is great. The time we spend contacting has good potential to be much more effective. And it looks like there'll be students on campus later in the afternoon than normal, which is great as well.

Overall, we're just working hard, and we're excited to see a couple baptisms this transfer!

Love!

Elder McGregor

A week of dead time; investigators; Elder Ballard; and scooters?

Hey Flambly!!

So things have been going well! Summer semester just finished--finals were thursday and friday of last week. So we've got a week of dead time, and fall semester starts Friday. Woohoo!

We've got three people with dates to be baptized. Kim has been progressing a lot! It's great--she finally was able to come to church for the first time this Sunday, and seemed to enjoy it (although made sure to comment that it was significantly different than a typical protestant service, which she's used to). Her date's for the 27th.

We're trying to get into contact with Claudia who got back from vacation last week, but we haven't heard from her yet. Her date is for the 20th, but we'll probably have to change it since we weren't able to see her at church yesterday.

Laura Flores is doing well as well. It's just really hard to meet with her due to her busy schedule. But we'll make it happen! She's preparing to be baptized on September 10th. Woohoo!

Robb came to church for like, the 22nd time in a row. He's doing well. He just doesn't feel like he's ready to be baptized, and we're trying to help him along. We're playing kickball tonight at FHE, and he should enjoy that quite a bit.

So overall, things are going well. Transfers are the 17th, so I hope to stick around for one more transfer to see these baptisms happen. But you never know, I guess.

We get to hear from Elder Ballard this Saturday! Pretty exciting. You know the church is serious about missionary work in a certain area when they send an apostle. Makes things happen =]

Sounds like things are great at home! Good to hear y'all are feeding the Elders. It's pretty nice, I won't lie. (We've had them here three times in the past month). Hopefully they're encouraging y'all to do some good missionary work as well =] (They are!  : ] )  I seem to remember Mom mentioning at one point that they were the Assistants to the President... is that still the case?

President Wolfert and family are doing really well. He's stellar (as if he would have been anything but, haha). Sister Wolfert is just the most tender woman I think I've ever met.

I've often wanted to ride around on scooters as missionaries. It'd be so effective, but I don't think the image is what the church is really going for as well. Not to mention there would almost invariably be many, many accidents. Sad day.

So, wow, Mom, that's pretty cool about the Willie Handcart Company ancestors. Cool story about Ann Rowley!

(I'm a descendant of three families that were in the Willie Handcart Co - the James, Rowleys and Gadds.  I shared some of their stories with him. Ann Rowley was one of the people in the movie 17 Miracles - the one who put two hard sea biscuits and some water in a cast iron pot on the coals when they were starving.  When they opened it up it was full of food.  All three of the families have amazing stories.)

Elder Barrett's doing well as well. We're both pulling to stick around for one more transfer, but again, who knows (God does =])?

Love you all bunches! Be excellent to each other!

Elder McGregor

We asked him why he didn't email last week and he responded:

yeah, the library was closed and we sent a quick email to the president on Tuesday--it was a busy day. Sorry I didn't write :/

Love!"